WHEATON ACTS TO ACQUIRE 3 BUILDINGS

Bob Goldsborough. Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

A business owner in the Wheaton's downtown area for 42 years, Robert Sandberg has tangled with city officials for the last 20 years over the conditions of his Main Street buildings, one of which houses his men's clothing store.

Now, city officials said they are fed up with what they say are broken promises from Sandberg to improve and fill his partly vacant buildings. On Monday, the City Council voted to begin negotiations to buy the properties at 102-110 N. Main, 109 N. Main and 113 N. Main, even though Sandberg insists he is not interested in selling.

Should negotiations fail, the City Council would need to take another vote if it wanted to initiate condemnation proceedings to acquire the buildings through eminent domain. Because Sandberg's buildings lie inside a tax increment financing district that was created in December 1999, city officials believe they would be on solid legal ground and would be awarded the buildings in court.

In the 1980s, the city tried to use eminent domain laws to buy the high-profile, 102-110 N. Main building, at the northwest corner of Main and Front Streets. The city had designs on placing an upscale restaurant in the building.

Sandberg fought back, and after many years of litigation and incurring $100,000 in legal bills, the city lost the case, which advanced all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court. The state high court ruled that Wheaton's then-locally designed redevelopment ordinance, which was the legal justification for the purchase, was unconstitutional.

Since then, city officials have continued to lock horns with Sandberg over the conditions of the buildings. Many of the first-floor retail spaces have been vacant, City Manager Don Rose said, and the city has repeatedly cited Sandberg for building code violations.

And right now, Rose said, the city is in separate litigation with Sandberg over zoning uses of the second floor of the 102-110 N. Main building.

Sandberg reiterated that he has no plans to sell two of his buildings or to move his store. He said the 102-110 N. Main building is on "the best corner" in downtown Wheaton, and that he wants to expand his store.

"On what basis will they condemn it?" asked Sandberg, who accused city officials of having a vendetta against him because of the Supreme Court fight.

"They can't just cherry-pick the best locations. Why do they want the corner building? It's full, and it's the nicest looking building on the block."

Sandberg vowed to fight any condemnation efforts, because "you have to prove this is America. It really disheartens anybody trying to stay in business."

City officials, however, have argued that with the continued redevelopment that is going on in downtown Wheaton--the city itself has already spearheaded two full-fledged redevelopment projects that have been completed and is working on a third--Sandberg's buildings must be upgraded. They also noted that several other buildings on Main Street that have been underutilized or in poor condition are on the upswing right now.

As a result, the city plans to acquire Sandberg's buildings, rehabilitate them and fill them with tenants. TIF laws, which give municipalities broad latitude to acquire troubled properties if they fall inside a well-defined geographic area and are part of a larger economic development effort, have been upheld by the courts and appear to give Wheaton the legal justification it needs, Rose said.

"Hopefully, we won't have to go down that route," Rose said of condemnation. "The last thing the city wants is to initiate an eminent domain action. It's premature to suggest that we would do that. But he's had 20 years to upgrade his properties, and he never gets it done."

The city's decision to move to acquire Sandberg's buildings right now stems from the fact that local business associations have suggested that the continued revitalization of the east side of downtown Wheaton is dependent on North Main Street, Rose said. And with so many vacant storefronts, Sandberg's buildings make up a large part of that area, he said.

Whether the city would renovate the buildings or sell them to a developer remains to be seen. Either way, the city's acquisition efforts continue its recent practice of buying real estate to jump-start downtown projects.

In the mid-1990s, the city spent about $998,000 to acquire four properties and three alleys, combining those properties with its former police station site to create a redevelopment site that now houses condominiums, a parking deck and retail space. Separately, the council also paid $1.35 million for a shuttered auto dealership, which it later demolished to make way for a condominium-only redevelopment project.

Also, the council spent $600,000 to buy a retail building in the block that is expected to be redeveloped with a Jewel food store, and has paid more than $1 million for two properties next to City Hall.